Olympics

Philosophy Olympics: The Game

The Game is a contest in which you will vote as a judge in the Philosophy Olympics in Ancient Greece. You will research and assume the role of a philosopher for the purposes of The Game.

You win the game if you get enough votes for your faction at the conclusion of the game. There are three factions. You should publicly present one argument about why your faction should win and one argument about why another faction should not win. You will give two speeches on behalf of your team.

[If you are the leader of your team, you should consult with others in your faction to strategize about how to convince undecided philosophers to vote for your faction.]

You will be evaluated on your public speaking skills, the arguments you put forward, and whether you communicate the specific character using plausible arguments for the philosopher you are representing.

If you are unable to portray your character convincingly you will lose credibility points for yourself and your team (cred). In the final vote for the game the Gamemaster will award 3 votes to one, two, or three teams based on the credibility factor established during the course of the game. Besides the Gamemaster, each player will be awarded one vote. The team which gets the most votes in the final tally wins the gold medal in the Philosophy Olympics and wins The Game.

Do not read the speeches you compose. Notes are acceptable to use, but reading your written paper to the class is bad form and will result in loss of cred for yourself and your team. Hint: don’t let members of your team do this: help them so your faction has a better chance at winning.

To prep for your role, go to primary sources and craft an argument for why either Plato, Aristotle, or Epicurus deserve the philosophy gold medal. Use of primary texts to support your written speech is strongly advised. Start by constructing a philosopher education card/poster to be finished by September 26.

Rules for...